Tom, it was a birthday party event for us, too... yet earlier in the day. The SiL's birthday but the latest granddaughter's 1st b'day celebration. She turns 1 on Monday. They had it in a small, tiny really, park on the East Side. Sandwiches and salads for lunch. Oh and yes, there was cake ... cakes 3. I skipped that course.
Dinner was spaghetti with clam sauce (I may have linguini here, but the 'ghets needed cooking). In addition to the clams (canned), sauce also had anchovies, and garlic, and wine, brightened with lemon...also cooked and finished with chopped parsley. It was very tasty and a nice presentation, but my camera/phone was charging. You know how it goes. Salad and toasted bread were the go-withs.
Tom, now in answer to a previous question, for our quick version, I use a can of Goya black beans. I dice or cut up a bit of onion and either green bell pepper slices or diced jalapeno (1/2 or 1) joins that party. They go into a bit of olive oil and into a pot to cook before the beans arrive. Towards the end, the beans get two tsps or so of apple cider vinegar. Easy peasy and tasty.
